Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, presents the Jim Crow south through the eyes of a young girl. Mary Badham, the actress who portrayed “Scout” in the film, shares memories of her fond relationship with actor Gregory Peck. Gary Edgerton (Old Dominion University) and Ted McKosky (Radford University) explain why the film is still considered iconic and is beloved. Also featured: Ed Weathers (Virginia Tech) says the book was the last great work of literature concerned with our legal system. Charles Shields, the author of the only biography of Harper Lee, talks about her life.
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What a wonderful surprise it was to hear Mary Badham and the others talk about one of my favorite stories.
In my sixth grade class, the better readers were given “Mockingbird” others were assigned “Sounder”
and I was in the first group.
Every few years I visit the story like an old friend.
This was a fantastic novel! The film was great too, but as most things go in this particular subject, the book is best. I highly suggest reading the book AND watching the film. The film follows the book very closely, so that’s always nice [:
This is an excellent resource! It’s a great addition to the book followup. It not only makes the biographical connections that kids enjoy hearing about, but also models thoughtful reader response techniques. (Interesting that Harper Lee was not in favor of forced integration–the comment that one’s birthplace can be “a straitjacket.” Also interesting that Lee revised the book repeatedly–would be a good comment to bring up!) I’ve taught the book and read countless student essays about it, but this truly would provide a “missing piece” to enhance student response to the unit.